8.75 months

I was so nervous about spending one full week in Florida.  We would be away from the familiarity of the house, our bed, our kitchen, our floors, our routine.  But we'd agreed to go, and despite my reservations about traveling and being away from our comfort zone, I was looking forward to the vacation.

We're now halfway through our week in Florida, and I'm amazed.  William adapted really well to the new environment and all the people.  It took about a day for him to acclimate.  We've stuck to his bed time pretty well.  At first, I was a bit jealous about going to bed at 8:00, but honestly, I've been pretty tired myself, and find that to be a good time to catch up on FB statuses before I finally try to sleep around 10:00.  Of course, if I really want to stay up, I'll ask Dave to stay w/the baby while I go back downstairs (usually for more food).

As I said, W has adjusted to being away from home really well.  Once I got our stuff situated (unpacked, clothes put away, a diaper changing station set up), I felt a lot more settled.  Had I known that would be the source of my anxiety, I would have done it as soon as we walked in the door.  He's been taking consistent naps (2 a day) and bedtime is between 8:00-9:00.  I find that I don't need to go through an elaborate bedtime routine, much anymore.  If he needs a bath, I'll give him one.  I don't like stressing over bedtime though, so if I try to put him down and he fights it, I just get back up and try again about an hour later.  That usually does the trick because he's usually begging to go to sleep at the second attempt.  Much easier on the mommie.

I don't know how life back at home will be once we get back.  I feel like so much of this progress is associated to being at the Beach House where we've all been more relaxed.  Dave has found uninterrupted time on his computer.  I've had time to take off the Mommie Hat.  William has had near-constant entertainment from the different people and the new environment.  I admit that we haven't even left yet, and I know I'm going to miss this.  I'm already mentally planning when we can come back!  My hope is that we will have all learned something from this trip, and that life at home won't be so stressed.  I'll work on keeping William on this schedule and definitely work harder at getting out and about more so he has more stimulation from others (not just Dave & me).

Milestones

Our pediatrician was right.  Development in months 7-9 is about movement.  W has really gotten better with his fine motor skills, pulling himself up to standing, sitting down slowly, and sitting up on his own.  He can go from laying on his back to rolling to his belly to sitting up by himself, and if the proper equipment is handy, he will even pull himself up to standing and slowly work his way around whatever he's holding onto.  He still falls over when he tries to transfer from one prop to another because he doesn't know to move his feet before his hands and head, but that will come in time.  It's just fun watching him satisfy his curiosity with his new freedom of movement.  (I admit that I've been quite protective of him here at the Beach House because the flooring is primarily tile or hard wood or there are stairs nearby.  He doesn't like to crawl around much on the tile and hard wood, but he likes the different chairs and barstools.)

He isn't really trying to talk much, but he seems to have a different screech depending on what he wants.  The dead giveaway is really the look in his eyes.  You don't really have a chance of guessing what he's trying to communicate if you don't watch his eyes.  They're so expressive!  His Grandma C really saw this when she saw W look from the plate in his Aunt D's hands to his Aunt D and back 3 times before he started squealing.  You could just tell that he wanted what was on her plate, and he waited patiently through 3 distinct "looks" before deciding to escalate what he wanted.  Momma sliced up some avocado, put it on Aunt D's plate, and Aunt D let him pick the avocado off her plate.  He was happy as a clam, having got what he had "asked" for.

I gave William chicken for the first time.  His Grandpa grilled some fabulous chicken a couple nights ago, and W saw me eating it and kept reaching for my plate.  I pre-chewed some chicken for him (he doesn't have any back teeth for the good chewing yet), and he loved it.  I tried giving him avocado again, and he really loved it this time.  We're going to try blueberries next, I think.  Or whatever I happen to have on my plate.  Oh, I gave him some soft broccoli stalk, and he didn't quite know what to think about it.  I think he'll like it eventually.

Lastly (for today), his top two teeth erupted yesterday.  He woke me up because he was sweaty and crying in the middle of the night, and I was a bit worried.  I didn't know what was wrong.  But he did go back to sleep, when I got him cooled off a little.  The next morning, he tried chewing on my finger (OUCH!) and I noticed the second set of baby teeth cutting emerging from his top gums.

I think my little beach baby is going to wake up soon, and I want to get a snack.  Momma's hungry.  Later!